Data released just moments ago from the US Census Bureau showed a rise in US retail sales in April, exceeding market expectations. Sales rose to $724.1 billion, a 0.1% increase compared to March's reading of 1.4% (expected 0.0%), and a 5.2% year-over-year increase. Core sales, excluding auto prices, fell 0.1% in April, compared to a 0.5% increase in March. Sales...
Preliminary estimates from the UK Office for National Statistics showed that UK gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.2% month-on-month in March, compared to 0.5% growth in February. This was better than expected, with the services sector primarily benefiting from growth. On a quarterly basis, the UK economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter of the year ending in...
Crude oil prices are trading lower in mid-US trading today, Wednesday, May 14, despite recovering a significant portion of the losses recorded at the beginning of the European session following OPEC's monthly report. Inventory figures came in contrary to expectations, with Brent crude falling by about 0.80% to trade at $66.10 a barrel, while US crude (NYMEX) is trading...
The US dollar index continued its decline for the second consecutive session on Wednesday morning, May 14, losing approximately 0.60%, trading at 100.20, following a 0.80% loss on Tuesday. This wiped out all of the gains it recorded in the opening session of the week, due to the trade agreement between China and the United States. This decline was influenced...
Data released just moments ago by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, rose 0.2% in April after declining by about 0.1% in March, falling short of expectations for a 0.3% increase. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.2% compared to 0.1% in March, matching expectations....
After declining in April, the ZEW Business Sentiment Index in Germany rose by 39.2 points in the May survey to 25.2, from -14 in April, better than expectations of a rise to 10.7. The index rose in May despite a 0.8-point decline in the assessment of the current economic situation in Germany, to -82, the lowest reading among all eurozone...
The world's two largest economies, the United States and China, announced an agreement to temporarily halt their trade war by suspending tariffs imposed by both sides for 90 days. Under the agreement, China will reduce tariffs imposed on the United States from 125% to 10%, while the United States will reduce its tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%....
The Canadian economy added 7,400,000 jobs in April, according to data released just moments ago by Statistics Canada, compared to a loss of approximately 32,000 jobs in March and February, better than expectations of approximately 4,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate rose 0.2% to 6.9% in April, compared to 6.7% in March. Expectations had been for a rise to...
The Bank of England voted 5-4 to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25%, as expected, at its meeting just moments ago. Two members favored a 50 basis point cut, and two members preferred to keep rates unchanged at 4.50%. The Bank's interest rate report stated that inflation remained generally low, with the consumer price index reaching 2.6%...
The US Federal Reserve decided, at its meeting, which concluded and was announced just moments ago, by unanimous vote, to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.5%, as expected, for the third consecutive meeting. The statement indicated that the Committee seeks to maximize employment and achieve a long-term inflation rate of 2%, and that uncertainty regarding the economic outlook has increased....